Sunday brunch is the best. Breakfast foods are my favorite and Sunday brunch is the one meal of the week that I can really indulge my love of pastries, eggs, and pancakes. This weekend my friends Justin and Katie were visiting from Seattle and I invited them over for brunch. It was the perfect opportunity to make a big-ass breakfast.

On the menu were banana bread muffins, soft boiled eggs, with strawberries, blood oranges, and raspberries. I’ve had my eye on a recipe over at Pinch My Salt for cheddar and parmesan scones and used this brunch as an opportunity to try them out. Boy, oh boy they were tasty. Not surprising when the main ingredients are cheese and butter. Plus! The scones have my favorite hot sauce in them: Sriracha. Really, its a winning combination.

It was a lot of food… but hey, brunch counts for two meals. Between the muffins, fruit, and spicy cheese scones there was a good balance of flavors and the variety kept the meal interesting. Good job, me.

We all ate our fill and then took a nice long walk around Berkeley. Brunch with friends is really a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Ingredients

I’ve been tinkering with a banana bread recipe and I’ve got it where I like it. There’s just enough fruit and veggies in it to make it seem like a nourishing breakfast item, but it’s still breakfast cake in its truest form. Here’s the recipe I used for my muffins:

Banana Brunch Muffins

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 grated carrot

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup melted butter

3/4 cups sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

Mix in the sugar, cinnamon, egg, and vanilla. Then mix grated carrot, cranberries, and sunflower seeds.

Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

Add the flour, mix.

Pour into a greased muffin pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. The muffins are finished when the fork comes out clean.